Another developer says “no thanks” to Windows 8

The launch date of Windows 8 is fast approaching, and the race is on to develop apps and games for the new platform. With just over two months to go, and around 650 apps currently in the Windows Store, Microsoft and the developer community alike have plenty of work to do to ensure that users have a compelling selection of software at launch.

But not all developers are happy about the prospect of Windows 8. The Windows Store, in particular, has not gone down well with some developers, who don’t like the idea of their software being subject to Microsoft approval before it gets into consumers’ hands. Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve, for example, recently referred to Windows 8 as a “catastrophe for everyone in the PC space”, a couple of weeks before the company confirmed that its Steam distribution platform will shortly expand to offer non-gaming software.

Today, another developer added their disapproving voice to those of Newell and others. UK independent developer Introversion Software – once self-styled as ‘the last of the bedroom programmers’ – seems to share Newell’s views. As The Next Web reports, Introversion’s lead designer and developer, Chris Delay, stated:

If Microsoft manage to close Windows and get to the point where every app has to be approved and certified by them, it’s game over for a lot of indies, including Introversion.”

Delay also added his personal impressions of the new OS:

I’m skipping Windows 8 until Microsoft include an option to use the Windows 7 start menu, and reduce the metro interface to a program [like the] Control Panel. It’s like someone at Microsoft took their upcoming tablet interface designed for 7 inch touch sensitive devices, and insisted we’d want the same thing on our 24 inch monitors with mice and keyboards. No thank you Microsoft.”

Not a fan then.

But in spite of the sentiments that some developers feel towards Windows 8, one can't help but wonder how many of them will actually ignore the OS in practice. Whatever one's opinions might be on it, there's no doubt that millions upon millions of users will own Windows 8 devices around the world - and that's surely too huge a market to ignore.

Source: The Next Web